My name is ..... And I'm new here.....

[flecc]

Great engine, rubbish car!

But surprisingly popular among motor sport enthusiasts.

Personally I think they made a very big mistake in panicking over the Mini and competing with it. I believe they should have stuck to their original economy air cooled two cylinder car design, light 2CV style. Quite a few 2CVs sold here and a British one could have done even better.

But Rootes Group were rather clueless. Remember the Hillman Avenger, Rootes' successful attempt to make an even worse car than the Austin Allegro?
.

 

[FastFreddy2]

Bringing the thread back on track .....

The Hillman Imp body, if available today, would make a great e-vehicle. Batteries split between front and rear compartments.... Tiny light-weight vehicle.....

 

[matthewslack]

Bringing the thread back on track .....

The Hillman Imp body, if available today, would make a great e-vehicle. Batteries split between front and rear compartments.... Tiny light-weight vehicle.....

And right back on track, interesting hearing your project coming together.

 

[FastFreddy2]

And todays job, make mounting for the controller.....




This will sit in a recess on the wooden platform (which I will have to cut out with a chisel as I don't -yet- own a router I could do it with). I chose a long pre-made plate from B&Q so that if the tube needs to be raised at all, I've got enough material to put a 90' bend in to raise the height of the tube. Hopefully, that won't be necessary.

As an aside .... The tube was, until a week ago, holding up a redundant aerial above my roof line. I'm not sure when it had last been used, but not since before we moved in 12 years ago. The wind blew it over, and I rescued it off our roof before it crashed onto a neighbours car. If I hadn't been so busy this week, it should have been taken to a council (recycling) dump before I had the chance to use some of it.

Because I needed a 1" diameter something for the controller clamp, I got very close to cutting up a broom to use the wooden handle.... But looking at the aerial sat on the patio, it occurred to me I should measure the tube that had been holding up the aerial. Bingo! 1" diameter!

The before ....




"Re-use, is better than recycle ....."

 

[Plas man]

(Drifting to the Imp , over heating issue is due to fan pushing air forward through radiator - car going forward , rear of car creating vacuum , stale mate . If only Routes had the reversed the fan blade , the cure fit a front radiator , I own a Plas , another Imp variant )

 

[FastFreddy2]

And they said it couldn't be done .....!

Actually, no one said it couldn't be done, they just suggested it wouldn't work ....

Penultimate status of the electrified (e- assisted) Hase Kettwiesel Evo. Parts and labour circa £900, which is half of one quote and little more than a third of another (fitted).

I rode up that hill again today. Started off pretty cocky at Level 1, and had changed it to Level 5 by the time I got to the top of the hill. The performance is just wonderful.





The hub and the battery are providing plenty of weight on the front wheel, grip doesn't seem to be a problem, despite the tyre being a Marathon Plus. Tread and contact area will be improved if/when the owner decides to ride it somewhere better grip might be needed. Not sure when that might be given our wet summer.

We found today, the reclining position of the rider, together with the short arms of the owner, meant the display is pretty difficult for them to reach. Likely I will have to find a way to extend the left bar with something "L" shaped so the display is closer to the left hand while in motion (or standing still). Without doubt, a throttle (that was bought with the kit) would be useful if installed, but the implementation of that is still at the design stage.

The factory fitted front and rear flashing lights are redundant as they were powered by original front hub. Next job is to add some safety features like (rechargeable) running lights, and what looks like a whip aerial with a small triangular flag on top to indicate to motorists the presence of a low vehicle.


I'd still prefer the battery slung under the boom, but this change may never be necessary. As long as the owner can sling their leg over the battery while seated, the general configuration can stay as it is.

Once again I'd like to thank members flecc and Woosh for their help. Without it, this project would have been significantly more stressful, and might not even have happened. The owner is very, very pleased with the outcome.

 

[pedalfettal]

Lovely build.

Is there a torque arm on the front drop-outs?

 

[FastFreddy2]

Lovely build.

Is there a torque arm on the front drop-outs?

No. The kit supplied by Woosh Bikes, does not utilise one, thankfully.

There were a few challenges met in the build, and having to design a bolt-on torque arm was not one of them I'm pleased to report. I have seen several held onto the fork using circlips, which would not have been suitable. I had seen at least one Hase conversion similar to this one, with the battery held in place using circlips, and that was never going to be a solution with this project.

I designed and had machined, the two aluminium brackets supporting the battery platform. If a torque arm was needed, I would have had a similar clamping arrangement made to fit the fork, to attach a torque arm. I don't know why this system doesn't need one, perhaps there is some sort of "soft start" technology involved? Others here would probably know.